Church funding under fire

Friction looks set to inflame between Slovakia’s religious organisations and the Ministry of Culture over the plans of culture minister Daniel Krajcer to revise legislation on public funding after religious organisations are separated from the state.

The Roman-Catholic Church has warned that it cannot be separated from the state due to the Slovakia-Vatican Treaty, which can’t be revoked. “It is essential that the Slovakia-Holy See Treaty remain in force,” announced the Slovak Conference of Bishops in reaction to Krajcer’s plans.

The issue was raised by Krajcer’s SaS party in reference to the Government Manifesto, as the state spent EUR 37.19 million on churches in 2009 alone.